Bill is joined again by his FDD colleague and show regular David Daoud to unpack issues raised in David’s latest piece for The Wall Street Journal, “Hezbollah Stumbles Into a War of Attrition.” They also catch up on adjacent matters concerning Israel’s ground war in Gaza and the dumpster fire engulfing American "institutions of higher education ..read more

Escalating attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi on ships highlights the challenges in deterring their aggression and the need to safeguard maritime security in the Red Sea.  ..read more

Saraya al-Ashtar, an Iranian proxy in Bahrain, claims it has now joined the fighting against Israel. This claim is unconfirmed ..read more

Zalmay Khalilzad, the former Special Repressive for Afghanistan Reconciliation and the key architect of the Doha Agreement, continues to maintain that the Taliban "dismantled" Al Qaeda, despite evidence to the contrary from the UN and CENTCOM ..read more

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant spoke with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on the evening of May 1. Israel’s Chief of Staff went to northern Israel to meet commanders on the northern front facing Hezbollah. Israel announced several wartime promotions for commanders amid ongoing political discussions surrounding the Rafah offensive ..read more

The Israel Defense Forces called for the evacuation of around 100,000 civilians in eastern Rafah to a designated humanitarian zone near Khan Younis. These efforts to keep civilians safe from possible fighting occur as Israel has reiterated a months-long vow to launch an operation into Rafah where an estimated four Hamas battalions remain ..read more

Bill and Joe catch up on top Israel headlines, including this weekend’s attack by Hamas that killed four IDF soldiers and in which the Iron Dome was curiously not activated to intercept the rocket fire; the issues of humanitarian aid, pier, and port; the anticipated Rafah operation; the concept of a permanent ceasefire; the cycle of civilians being kidnapped and held hostage by armed Palestinian groups; reports of the U.S. withholding a shipment of military aid to Israel; an update on the eerily quiet West Bank; and Joe’s visit to his local “pro-Palestine protest ..read more

Israeli tanks took control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt on May 7, 2024. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited IDF artillery supporting the operation and said Israel was still open to a compromise with Hamas, but that Israel would intensify operations if Hamas did not make a hostage deal. Hezbollah and Iraqi militias escalated attacks on Israel as the IDF operation in Rafah began ..read more

Evidence of foreign fighters operating in southern Lebanon continues to mount as the Israeli military recently killed three Syrian members of Islamic Jihad ..read more

Iran-backed militias and proxies are threatening Jordan's security ..read more